TOXINS IN MEAT 177 



Weinzirl and Newton describe a method of determining the 

 bacterial content of meat, in which the meat is ground in a mortar 

 with sterile sand and normal salt solution to obtain an emul- 

 sion for inoculation into the culture media, and report the appli- 

 cation of this method to the determination of the bacterial con- 

 tent of a number of samples of market Hamburger steak. The 

 result showed that the standard of 1,000,000 bacteria per gram 

 advocated as a maximum limit for the salable product is much 

 too low, as nearly all the samples examined would be condemned 

 on this basis, though showing no taint or other evidences of 

 putrefaction. The authors propose a limit of 10,000,000 bacteria 

 per gram. 



For making toxicity tests of meats, broths, sausage meats, 

 soup stocks and other meat products, the following general 

 method is recommended. In case of solids such as meats (raw, 

 smoked, cooked, canned or pickled), sausages, sausage meats, etc., 

 10 grams of a well-mixed average sample are well pulped in 10 

 cc. of boiled distilled water. Let stand for 20 min. with frequent 

 stirring. Express and filter the extract through a clay bougie. 

 The toxins being soluble will be found in the filtrate. Inject 

 2 cc. of the clear filtrate into the subdermal connective tissue 

 or intraperitoneally into guinea-pigs or white mice, using three 

 animals for each test. If one or more of the animals thus 

 inoculated die within 48 hr., or if they show marked symptoms 

 of intoxication without dying, the meat is unfit for consumption. 

 In the case of soups, broths, soup stocks, chop suey and other 

 meat products which contain hquid, the procedure is much simpler. 

 Take suitable quantities of the thoroughly mixed sample and 

 filter, first through filter paper and finally through the clay 

 bougie, as for the meat extract already described, and inject 

 2 cc. quantities as already explained. The toxicity tests should 

 in all cases be supplemented by the plate count. 



Botulism or sausage poisoning is due to a toxin (botulin) 

 formed by the Bacillus botulinus (Lat., botulus, a sausage), a 



